Ray Hatton dies at 83; pioneering record-holder, Hall of Famer
Story from October 1985 National Masters News.
3,000 (8:53.8) and 10,000 (32:10.4). (Pete Magill has a faster time in the 10K, though.) David Castle wrote me: “I’ll never forget how Ray Hatton won a HS 3000m race I was in in the Bend Metrics meet in 1972 (he was running as unattached/guest). I was a fit (9:30 two-mile) 17 year-old; but was no match for him.” According to a wonderful Wikipedia bio, Ray retired from competitive running after back surgery in 1992. I’m seeking funeral info.
From Wikipedia, we learn:
Over the years, Hatton set a number of national running records. He set American records in the 40-44 age category in the 1 mile (4:24.0), the for 2 mile (9:17.6), and the 10,000 meters (30:56.0).
American 1,500 meters record (Masters 50-54 age division) – 4:05.8 (set 8 July 1982)
American 3,000 meters record (Masters 50-54 age division) – 8:53.8 (set 25 June 1982)
American 10,000 meters road race record (Masters 50-54 age division) – 31:48 (set 23 May 1982)
American 10,000 meters record (Masters 50-54 age division) – 32:10.4 (set 18 June 1983)
Funeral arrangements are being made by Major Family Funeral Home in Springfield.
I’ll try to learn details of any services. Ray was a great.
Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
4 Responses
Condolences to the Hatton family. Mr. Hatton’s life was one well run.
Curious, however, as to the 1985 NMN article (above). The Pacific Northwest Masters regional records list Ray Hatton as the M50 PNW Masters 5000m record holder at 15:42.40 in 1983 (better than the mark list above) and the M55 PNW Masters 5000m record holder at 16:35.56.
The oldest PNW Masters regional record is Ralph Sutton’s M50 49.12m Javelin mark from 1981.
http://www.pntf.org/masters/documents/NWRegionRecords.pdf
I never met Ray Hatton. But I certainly knew who he was. As I approached age 50, his name became as familiar to me as any in masters running. I expected to go after lots of Ray’s American marks as I entered the M50-54 age group, but like many masters before me found that my 50th birthday cake was closely followed by a long fall off a steep cliff. The only mark I was healthy enough to take a shot at was Ray’s road 10K mark. I’d declared my intention to go after it a couple months earlier, then got more and more nervous as the day of the race came near, because Ray had run 31:48 and I had no idea whether I could even break 32 minutes. The day came–I was running the Cypress 10K in So Cal–and I’d gotten almost no sleep the previous night. The gun went off, and so did I. I remember another runner trying to talk to me at the mile mark, and I put my finger to my lips, shushing him, because I knew I’d need every bit of oxygen I could inhale to go after the mark. There were zero splits given on the course, and I never wear a watch to race. So I had no idea what I was running as I approached the finish line. I’d ended up in no man’s land, was struggling, and wouldn’t have been surprised to finish in over 33 minutes. But as I closed in on the finish, I saw the clock click over to 31 minutes. I kicked like mad and crossed the line in just over 31:10 (31:11 officially). It was my fastest masters road 10K–faster than I’d run in my first decade (age 40-49) as a masters, and much faster than I’ve run since. That’s what it took to run faster than Ray, and I’ve never come close again to any of his marks.
Everyone out there who’s ever chased a record will know what I mean when I say that I feel like I have a special relationship with Ray–even though, as I said, I never met him, and I doubt he knew I existed. And now I’ll miss him.
Bend (Ore.) Bulletin has a nice obit:
http://www.bendbulletin.com/news/2963386-151/cocc-professor-masters-runner-hatton-dead-at-83
We learn: The family is in the early stages of arranging a memorial service to be held at COCC next month.
The memorial service/Celebration of Life for Ray Hatton is on Sunday, April 26th at 1:00 p.m. at Central Oregon Community College, Campus Center (which is near the COCC track), in Bend, Oregon. For more information, please contact his daughter, Janice Hatton, at jhatton@luvaascobb.com
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